The Halle–Cottbus railway is a 176 km long double-track electrified main line in the German states of Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Brandenburg.

Before German reunification, the line was also served by express trains, but it is now mainly used by regional and international freight traffic.

Typical stops for long-distance services were Calau, Finsterwalde, Doberlug-Kirchhain, Falkenberg (Elster), Torgau and Eilenburg.

An InterRegio service was established in 1995 with trains running from Cottbus to Leipzig, continuing via Magdeburg and Schwerin to Lübeck.

Most services in this section have been run since December 2008 by Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn, a brand of Veolia Verkehr Regio Ost.

Due to the cuts to public transport funding adopted by the Saxon government in 2010, amounting to €24 million for 2011 and €35 million in 2012, at least a partial reduction in services between Halle and Eilenburg was considered by Zweckverband für den Nahverkehrsraum Leipzig (the Leipzig local transport association, ZVNL), but this was averted.

With the commissioning of the City Tunnel in Leipzig the ZVNL plans to discontinue all passenger transport services between Eilenburg and Halle and the future of the Eilenburg–Delitzsch section is to be examined.

Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn operates the Halle–Eilenburg route with Stadler Regio-Shuttle RS1 or Siemens Desiro Classic diesel railcars, possibly also in double traction.

Moreover, it has become increasingly important for freight to and from Eastern Europe, branching in Falkenberg via Hoyerswerda to Węgliniec to Poland (Węgliniec–Roßlau railway).

The BLG Logistics Group announced in May 2011 that it would invest €10 million in Falkenberg on 20 of the 40 tracks to form a marshalling yard, including a workshop, for freight trains for transporting cars to and from eastern Europe.